Celebrity Philanthropy and Activism ― Mediated Interventions in the Global Public Sphere

In recent years, celebrity philanthropy and activism has attracted much attention from the media sparking a great deal of public interest. Globally renowned super-celebrities habitually lend their name, time and energy to a range of causes; they help raise awareness, generate funds and endeavour to evoke social and political responses to crucial societal issues, ranging from domestic violence, cancer prevention, climate change and transgender acceptance, to refugee problems and fighting poverty at home and abroad. But in what ways do celebrities have the power to define what is going wrong in the world? And what moral and ethical implications does this activism present? Does celebrity humanitarianism and activism serve to reinforce post-colonial power relations or does it help solve social problems, advancing traditional views on how society is, and should be, organised?

Combining insights from social policy, celebrity culture, communication science and international politics, this book critically analyses the mediated discourses and debates that celebrity philanthropy and activism provokes as well as considering wider ethical and theoretical perspectives. It will be of interest to all scholars and students working in sociology, health and social care and social policy.

Hilde Van den Bulck (Ph.D.) is full professor and head of the Media, Policy & Culture research group at the University of Antwerp. She holds an MA in communications from the KULeuven (B), an MA in mass communications from the University of Leicester (UK) and a Ph.D. in social sciences from the KULeuven (B). She combines complementary expertise in media structures and media cultures. For the past ten years, an important part of her research has focused on the cultural significance and societal role of mediated communication from and about celebrities in general and celebrity philanthropy and activism in particular.